Doctor Who Christmas special, and Matt Smith's wig

The Doctor Who Christmas special starts filming this Sunday. And a wigged Matt Smith will be featuring...

Filming starts this weekend on the eagerly-awaited Doctor Who Christmas special, where the keys to the TARDIS will be handed over from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi. The episode has been written by Steven Moffat, and Jamie Payne (Hide) will be returning to direct.

And one immediate puzzle has been, unsurprisingly, resolved. Given that Matt Smith's famous locks had been chopped for his role in Ryan Gosling's upcoming directorial debut, there were question marks over whether the Doctor's hair would have a radical change, or if this might set the stage for an early regeneration.

There had been no shortage of theories, including our own, that Smith's Doctor may not regenerate at the end of the Christmas special, rather that Steven Moffat may have a rug pull up his sleeve. He may still, but somewhat predictably, Matt Smith has confirmed he will be wearing a wig for his final outing as the Doctor. It sure beats those miracle hair growth products you read about in the Sunday papers.

It will be Smith's farewell to the Doctor, at least until he's called back for a future reunion/anniversary episode. As he said to us once upon a time, when you're the Doctor, people want to know when you're going to be leaving the role. And when you've left it, people want to know when you're coming back.

Also, at least one monster for the Christmas special has been revealed, but we're keen not to spoil the surprise. If you want to know, click on this story here.

We'd expect the majority of the Christmas special to be kept firmly under wraps, but as and when we find out more, we'll let you know...